Articles filed under Tourism

Tuesday, the ERT heard testimony from Dr. Cornelia Baines, witness for the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change. ...Under cross-examination by APPEC counsel Eric Gillespie, Dr. Baines conceded that she knows nothing about wind turbine technology though she has read regularly about the health issues. She also admitted she has not seen patients since the 1980s and is not licensed to practice medicine.

In a statement attacking the proposals, Bournemouth Tourism Management Board also said it was furious that EDF Energy, one of the backers of the Navitus Bay project, was “completely disregarding the environmental and consequential economic impact on the local area and refusing to compensate for the multi-million pound damage local businesses face”.

Mark Smith, Bournemouth’s director of tourism, told a hearing that tourism was worth just over a billion pounds to the region every year and supported 24,617 jobs. According to Smith: If the project were approved, Dorset resorts and businesses should be protected from “financial devastation”.

A report presented by Mark Smith, director of tourism, claimed £6.3bn would be taken out of the local economy, with 4,923 jobs lost. "The tourism interests would only be protected if the developer is required to mitigate the tourism loss.

But the project was dealt a major setback this week when the U.S. Department of Energy awarded the UMaine-led project just $3 million, a fraction of the $47 million grant it sought over the last two years. Projects in Oregon, New Jersey and Virginia received larger grants.

Commenting on the tourism findings, Stuart Brooks, Chief Executive of the John Muir Trust said that the poll showed two things. “First, that people in the Highlands and Islands support protection of wild land. And second, there is deep concern that if it is not protected, the impact could be damaging to the economy of the region.

A survey of nearly 1,000 climbers and hill walkers, carried out by the Mountaineering Council of Scotland, revealed that 68% say parts of Scotland are now less appealing because of wind farms. Around two thirds have already been put off by wind farms from visiting or revisiting places in Scotland they had visited before. ...67% say wind farms are making Scotland as a whole a less appealing place to visit.

The tourist industry has added its voice to the campaign against massive investment in wind farms off the Dutch coast, Nos television says on Wednesday. Tourist company association Recron says its members will lose tens of millions of euros a year and several thousand jobs could go if the government presses ahead with placing hundreds of offshore turbines.

"The most important thing is to protect jobs," said Richard Vainopoulos, the president of TourCom, France's second-biggest umbrella grouping of travel agencies. He said impact studies have shown that visitors to affected sites could fall by up to 50 percent if wind turbines are set up nearby.

"There is no evidence that I have seen that suggests that wind farms will ever provide the reliable, controllable energy that is required by our society, however many there might be. It is a basic Christian truth that we all have a duty and a responsibility to care for and exercise wise stewardship over God's creation, which has been entrusted to us.

The Middleton Burn Action Group, fighting planned wind farms near Belford, conducted a survey for the second year in a row asking tourists whether those proposed turbines would impact on their likelihood of returning. Whereas last year 64% of respondents said turbines would adversely effect their choice of North Northumberland as a holiday destination, that figure increased to 76.9% in 2013.

The owner of a five-star tourism business in an isolated Wester Ross peninsula has launched a scathing attack on plans to build a community-owned wind turbine which he says is an "absolute violation" of the landscape. This week the Coigach Community Development Company (CCDC) unveiled their plans.

Impact assessments carried out by the wind park developer state that up to a third of all visitors could be deterred from holidaying in the area during the three year construction phase. And once the wind farm is built and in operation, 14 per cent of visitors say the loss of view would prevent them from returning.

"While I fully appreciate the need for sustainable and renewable energy projects, they should not be allowed to compromise the viability and sustainability of parts of the county that are dependent on jobs and revenue from tourism. Another serious issue for concern is that Mayo County Council, as the planning authority, is not allowed to adjudicate on any of these proposals, and no individual or community has the right of appeal.

It's beyond dispute that, were dozens of turbines built here, Baker County's appearance would be changed dramatically. This is no minor matter in a county where tourism is an important industry. And many of our visitors are attracted by our mountains, canyons and other picturesque scenery that is largely devoid of towers and other man-made distractions.

His motion was ‘that the county council urgently undertakes a wide-ranging study which considers the effect of existing and planned onshore windfarms on our tourism industry. This is crucial in order to determine the impact such large-scale development may have on our local businesses and visitor perception'.

The most significant development is that the majority of selectmen now seem to think it's unlikely that they can remove the wind turbines without voters authorizing the removal fees. "Taking down the turbines in the town, with this board, is not an option anymore," Murphy said. "Short of a court judgement, I think that ship has sailed. I think we have to be realistic.

Next week the county council will be asked to support a motion by opposition Tory group deputy leader Glen Sanderson calling on the authority to conduct a wide-ranging study into the effect of existing and planned onshore wind farms on the tourism industry.

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